Various powered floor cleaning machines are known in the art, including those in which the operator is standing on the floor and walking behind the machine (“walk-behind” machines), those in which the operator is sitting on the machine (“ride-on” machines), and those in which the operator is standing on the machine (“stand-on” machines). A
Some machines provide wet scrubbing of a floor surface, usually with a squeegee assembly, such as one that includes a vacuum system for picking up soiled water resulting from the wet scrubbing process.
A well-known problem for powered floor cleaners is the pick-up of debris in front of and at the side of the cleaning path of the cleaner. Some commercial machines address this problem with so-called presweepers in various configurations. A unit with cylindrical brushes sweeps the cleaning path in front of the machine and collects the dirt in a bin. Other commercial machines use a side brush that sweeps debris from the side of the cleaning path. Such devices unfortunately increase the overall footprint of the machines. This can considerably reduce maneuverability, reduce the effective reach of wet cleaning in corners, require higher energy consumption thus reducing machine autonomy by requiring more frequent battery recharging, and/or generate dust due to high rotational speed. These devices tend to complicate the cleaning system and add expense. Another method to address this issue is a manual sweeping process before the wet-cleaning process is begun. This can be time-consuming, and therefore is often neglected. Missing the pre-sweeping process can lead to streaking of the floor surface as debris is caught under the squeegee. Suction performance can be reduced, resulting in impairment of or even blockage of the suction system.